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158 COMPETENCY-BASED QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS

Situation: When I began working for Martino Public Relations firm, I

was green. Without much experience, I was charged with creating a press re-
lease for one of our clients in the legal field. I was having difficulty developing
a newsworthy angle.

Action: I sketched two ideas. Since I am always open to constructive

feedback from colleagues, I ran my thoughts by a team member in the cubi-
cle next to mine.

Result: He offered pointers on ways I could improve upon what I had

generated. His advice was on target, and I made the necessary changes. Ul-
timately, the press release was picked up by the Associated Press and dis-
tributed to newspapers across the country.

Question 167. Recall a time when you had a difficult coworker as part

of your team.

Situation: When I worked for the Gambini Company, I was assigned

a co-worker who had a reputation for taking over projects and getting upset
when her ideas were not implemented.

Action: I made a conscious decision to be sure our time together

was productive. When one of her ideas had merit, but needed tweaking, I ac-
knowledged the strength of her position before making suggestions of my own.

Result: Though it was initially difficult for her to accept another point

of view, she eventually started to entertain my ideas. We put together a pro-
posal that won the company a lucrative contract. And because we eventually
got along so well, we agreed to partner on additional projects.

Question 168. Tell me about a time you worked on a project when your

role was not clearly defined.

Situation: At the Century Company, a group of us were selected to

participate in a beta project for the computer networking system. The project
outline was not clearly defined and no one in the group knew his or her role.

Action: At the first meeting, I asked team members to describe their

strengths and weaknesses. I began to list each on the dry board.

Result: Taking the role of facilitator, I encouraged everyone to choose

a task based on individual interest and strengths. In no time, we had a list of
priorities and everyone chose tasks that best suited their abilities.

American Management Association
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